At 29 years old and with undoubtedly a few more years of quality basketball left, Kobe Bryant's legacy is not yet set in stone.
But after the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant's place in history definitely took a step back.
After his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, mixed with his three championship rings and 2008 MVP trophy, Kobe supporters tend to get a little overexcited about Bryant's legacy - with some even claiming Bryant has surpassed Michael Jordan in terms of greatness.
Now, I'm not just a Bryant-hater here to bash Kobe. He is ridiculously athletic and has a tremendous competitive streak, and you can make a strong case that he is the most talented player in the NBA today.
However, when it comes to Bryant vs. Jordan, there isn't even an argument.
Looking at statistics alone, Jordan's 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game trumps the 25, 5.3 and 4.6 career averages of Bryant. "His Airness" also won five regular season MVPs to Bryant's one, while being named Finals MVP in each of his six championships. In Bryant's three NBA Finals wins, Shaquille O'Neal was named MVP all three times.
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But as basketball fans will tell you, statistics only say so much.
Jordan raised his game in critical moments and playoff games. As impressive as his numbers are, Jordan will be remembered for the images he gave us - nailing the game-winner at the buzzer against Cleveland in the deciding game 5 of a 1990 playoff series, having to be carried off the court by Scottie Pippen after his courageous performance in "the flu game," or hitting the NBA Finals-clinching game winner in 1998, his last shot as a Chicago Bull.
Bryant has had his share of solid playoff games throughout his career, but none rival Jordan's.
And because of Shaq's presence on his three championship teams, Bryant has no claim to being better than, or even in the same class as Jordan.
Bryant fans will make the statement that Jordan was helped tremendously by being paired with Pippen, which is a fair thought. However, it is clear that Jordan was the alpha dog in the Bulls' dynasty.
In Bryant's case, he was the sidekick to O'Neal, who was the most dominant player in the NBA during the Lakers' run. That's not to say O'Neal didn't need Bryant to win those rings, but Shaq was the Batman to Bryant's Robin on those championship squads.
And because O'Neal and Tim Duncan each have four rings, Bryant isn't even the most dominant player of his era, much less of all time.
That's why Bryant's loss in 2008 was so detrimental to his placing among the truly elite.
What Kobe has going for him is that he's not done yet. O'Neal has likely seen the last of his winning days and Duncan's Spurs are starting to look old and creaky. Thanks to the acquisition of Pau Gasol, Bryant has a relatively young and definitely loaded Lakers team surrounding him for the next few years.
If L.A. can manage to win a couple championships in that time, then we can start talking about Bryant as the best player of his era.
Until then, No. 24 has some work to do.
But once and for all, let the Jordan comparisons stop. While Bryant has some climbing to do among the all-time greats, it's too late for him to reach No. 1.
